CBI to probe Ranvir Sena chief’s murder

The CBI will probe the murder of Brahmeshwar Singh alias Mukhiya, chief of Bihar’s caste-based outfit Ranvir Sena, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Bhojpur district of the state on June 1, 2012. Abhishek Sharan reports.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has consented to probe the murder of Brahmeshwar Singh alias Mukhiya, chief of Bihar’s caste-based outfit Ranvir Sena, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Bhojpur district of the state on June 1, 2012.

“We have given our consent to take up the Brahmeshwar Singh murder probe from the Bihar police,” said a CBI source.

The source said, “We will initiate probe in the case as soon as its takeover is formalised by the issuance of a notification by the government.”

The Bihar government had requested the home ministry last year, within weeks of the murder, to hand over the case to the CBI but the agency had expressed its inability to take it up, said the source.

“We had a shortage of investigators then due to several high-profile probes that were being handled by us and could not take up the probe. We had, in fact, sought assistance of state police officials from the Bihar government if we were to take up the probe,” said the source.

Bihar police’s special investigation team had arrested three alleged extortionists as part of its probe in the case, but it is suspected that there could be a wider conspiracy behind the murder.